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11 March 2009

Rick Mercer Visits Algonquin Park

This week Rick Mercer visited Algonquin Park to do some work on Bear Tagging and research. The video was absolutely hilarious and well worth a look.

Some of my favorite lines included:

"Here's you new collar, this years model is the same as last year, only it holds more songs!""You know how I know there are three cubs? I counted the heads.""Do I have to put all 3 back? Can I just keep one?""I think we should just go with the double dose."

I could barely leave my computer as this was such an interesting and beautiful site. Thank you so much for the pictures and dialogue. The video was lovely and also funny. Please give us more. Love this Nature site. Thank you so very much.Mrs. C. Bell

Algonquin Park is my favourite place. Nature at it best! For how long..... ??? Ontario's Green Energy has big plans for this international treasure---They have proposed a large industrial wind farm near the Eastern Gates. Check out Whitney Wind Energy Project. It is called:www.KeepWhitneyWild.com

Hey, Rick..just saw this now..too cute! Be glad you didn't take a cub home; my uncle found a cub in a trap (rotten trappers) years ago; got it out; saved it's life; got vet care for it; had it several years until the neighbors complained (he had it in a compound and loved it to pieces) but finally had to give it up to MooseJaw Zoo (broke his heart to send his friend away, but Snoopy did live out his life at the Zoo'til he passed away..it would be like giving up one of your boys..so, be glad you left that cub with him mom!!

Heart & soul-melting! Reminds me once more of the fact that the wildlife animals have to not only learn to survive killings among themselves, they have to worry about the biggest predators of all -- us the insatiable human species -- for profit & pleasures. How sad!

what fun; we live in western ma at the foot of the mt tom range and often have black bears in our yard swinging from the bird feeders and climbing trees when WE get too close. wonderful animals and a great video.james

Thank you for showing this video. It was fantastic & it is great to see other people caring about animals as my daughter & I do. It is good to know that we are all becoming more responsible & caring towards other species with whom we share this planet. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!PS: I would have checked your pockets for any cubs.

It's always nice to see work like this being done on the conservation end of the spectrum. And a little sense of humor associated with the hard-work makes it all the more relative for the folks who are urban bound and don't see the work being done to manage the wildlife.Very nice feel good video.

Rick Mercer..honestly, you bring such joy to the world. This was ABSOLUTELY great, as a Wildlife Photographer myself, I would have LOVED to have been there, thanks Rick, my best to you, David and the boys, Cheers, Erinwww.erinshipley.com

WHAT A WONDERFUL WONDERFUL FUNNY AND WARM VIDEO, WANTED TO KEEP A COUPLE OF THE BABIES MYSELF, A WONDERFUL THING YOU ARE DOING. THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PUT IT OUT FOR OUR VIEWING, GOOD TO SEE SOME NICE FAMILY AND ANIMAL ENTERTAINMENT, PLUS I LEARNED SOMETHING. THANKS AGAIN AND BE SAFE AND JUST ENJOY LIFE, I DO.

You Canadians leave such beautiful comments. In the U.S. people would be writing such trash as "That's so gay!" or "Let's put a housing development there" or "Universal health care is only for bears, not for humans."

Thanks for the great video and the refreshingly postive, upbeat comments.

Paul Harris Author, "Diary From the Dome, Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina"

Question: Did you remove the blue mask/muzzle from the unconsious bear before putting her back with cubs in the Den? I didn't see you do that so you have me worried????Please respond. Thanks a million.

I loved this video! I keep threatening to leave the states and move to Canada (this happens to me w/almost every upcoming election...) and this may have convinced me to finally do it. I would love seeing nature like this, unspoiled.

There should be no hunting of Bears by Trappers because all they do is feed the Bear and when some idiot comes that wants to shoot a bear they put them on a horse lead them around for as long as they can.

Just before it is time for the mighty hunter to go home they find this Bear who was fed and shhoot him or her.

Isn't anyone concerned that the mother bear was drugged and she is feeding 6 week old babies milk that will probably be contaminated with that drug? Who are we doing this for? Certainly not in the best interest of the bears. Comments please?

Why are these bears treated as toys, prisoners and jokes? Why are they handled, drugged, weighed, measured and numbered? Why are they degraded into "cute"? How could this video become amusing? Perhaps the laugh track is meant to cue this perspective, but I see a violent intrusion of idiotic technological power into the space of possibly wild animals. Disgusting.

I hope that fans of this video will see the work being done by Dr Lynn Rogers. He has studied black bears for over 40 years, and does not tranquilize them when changing their collars or checking vitals. He is also pushing for laws that would protect collared research bears from hunters. See him at www.bear.orgClick on Lily and Hope tab.

So-Called Patriot Paul - What the hell is wrong with you that you have to bring in such nastiness to this commentary? 99.9% of the Americans that view(ed)this video would love it and I do not see one such foul chatter on this board with the exception of you. Go away P.P. Your kind of "patriotism" is a jingoistic form of nonsense we can do without.

Excellent video of those cuddly cubs ... I wish I could have one here! Was near Tofino the other week and saw two bears on the way. I wish I could have seen more. Bear watching is high on my wish list. You all doing an excellent job for their conservation - well done!

Hey PatriotPaul! I am from the US and I loved this video! Those babies are precious and I hope that momma and babies are doing well! I love animals and want them to be taken care of...have room to roam and not be hunted to extinction! People need to realise the whole world doesn't belong to them!

Oh those little cubs were amazing.Nature is wonderful and the Algonquin Park has it's just amazing. Loved the video, made me smile: Ontario bears with universal health care :) Yuppee and the screaming cub is Danny Williams. Thanks for sharing this video.

If anyone thought this was cute and funny. Personally I think it is creul to tranquilize bears. My husband kept telling me to turn it off. the only think cute about the video is thelittle cubs. You want ot see something truely cute and AMAZING you should check out NABC North American Bear Center, bear.org where they don't tranquilize their bears. They work with their collared bears with nuts and trust.

What a great video. I live in New Jersey and we have many black bears. Too bad the government has approved a hunt this year. They are such beautiful creatures, and we should learn to live with them and not hunt them.

Jeff Read you bio in the side bar. Sorry the average man is not gay and certainly doesn't try to raise two kids in a gay household leaving the children lacking a maternal hand in guidance. eaching is a noble profession to be sure but spare me and the rest of America the normalization of homosexuality.-Anonymous

I thought this video was a scream. you are sooooo funny and handsome like someone else said, but most of all you seem like you do enjoy life, the outdoors, animals, and having a good time. How cute those cubs were. I would love to be in one of your classes, but i suppose at 67 i would stand out like a sore thumb. we should have more people like you in the world.

I respect Rick's humour. However people must remember that the "cute factor" of black bear cubs stops when they are cubs. Adult bears are a species that must be respected. The whole purpose of this excercise is to gain data for the management of ontarios bear population. Kudos to the biologists and the long hours they put in. Please use the facts to bring back the spring bear hunt.

Romans 1:18-32 NIV 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Rick Miercer Should Try And Find Some Comedic Lessons, he is by NO way funny .. the cubs were cute tho.. but if you have never seen one, outside of a zoo, you should think about getting you a@@ out of the city and see what your country has to offer..

Great narration. Marvelous video. I'm viewing in November 2010 with my granddaughter spending a few overnights with us. I couldn't wait to replay it for her. Thank you for inviting us to participate in this awesome experience.

My husband and I enjoyed this video!We own a cottage at Cross Lake, Madawaska Ontario. We drive through the West Gate Entrance of Algonquin Park and cross paths with many moose & bear along the way each year.I have video clips and many photos of them to enjoy all year around. It's such a "hoot" to see Rick's clips about his adventures, but we especially like this one because of the location. Thanks for sharing! Toledo, Ohio USA

Great job. Enjoyed the video as everyone else did. I live in Alaska and we have both Brown and Black Bears. I see some of the comments are from "city folk". Our brown bears are cute too unless they are charging you but if they get you down they usually won't kill you. Lots of bits and if you lay very still they will walk off. Now our black bears are different. Like our Polar bears you are a meal. Both will kill you and eat you. Oh so cute. I had a cute black bear coming for me one night. Ears laid back and on the low crawl. I shouted at it several times before I did what I had to do with a .41 magnum. Didn't feel much like being eaten or killed by a black bear 20 miles from a road....... I am only a retired Game Warden.

It is shocking to me that professionals would remove the cubs from the nest, remove the mother, strap on that huge collar, (I think each of the doers really should have had a collar like that one on as well) and consider it a job well done. It is disruptive and disturbing to the bears!

Having been living out of Canada since 1984 it was a simple joy for me to hear that sweet humble Canadian accent. Well done tagging those silly bears too. Couldn't help but notice that little screaming fella had a bit of a french accent going on...could it be that Mama and Papa Bear are bilingual???

I enjoyed this video and the commentator immensely. I love animals and love to see that someone in this world is looking after the wild life. I volunteer at a horse rescue which in Kansas is the closest we get to wild life. Great Job!!!

I hate to be the "lone ranger" here but I think we should not disturb nature like this - to me it is harassing these bears ---- and the same thot about having to wear a large collar their whole life - just so they can be counted.

Well done Rick we should have more Vids like this and show folks whats is happening to our Wildlife. It is wonderful to see the connection between man and his animal neighbours, we sure need each other. Living in the UK I was amazed to see you guys doing this in the Freezing cold to keep the Species going. Well done all, may all your futures be the best they could ever be. Rik Sands London UK.

What a feel good film to watch!Simply loved it! Rick is a riot!I would love to enjoy his humorall the time. I'm so sick of theidiotic obscene crap "humor" thatis so polluting all of our brains& souls here in the U.S.A. And yesthe bears are adorable too. What afun,fasinating and greatly entertaining piece of work. Can Rick host a program for down herein the good old U.S.A.?

About Me

I would consider myself a fairly average guy, who enjoys the simple things in life. I enjoy spending time with my family, both immediate and extended and consider myself interested in life. By that I mean I can find interest in things that I may not necessarily have been interested in, if not shown why they are interesting. I've been a high school teacher for 15 years, and consider the career to be both a joy and an honour; in short, I love my job. I have two boys aged 10 and 12 who are the centre of my universe, and a wonderful partner of 18 years, David. After living for eight years in Riverdale (a fantastic part of downtown Toronto), my family and I decided to try the suburbs and now live in Mississauga. While I will always be a Torontonian at heart, the new neighborhood has many advantages, one being that it backs onto the Credit River Conservation Area.
Contact me: E-Mail:jproppe@rogers.com.
iChat: proppe@mac.com